Tax my stupidity: How do I bet on the Oscars?

January 15, 2016 4:36 AM

I live in the UK, where it's legal to bet on the Academy Awards, and I'd like to have a little flutter this year. Help me lose my money!

I've clicked around on sites like William Hill/Paddy Power and have been a bit baffled, having never laid a bet in my life - what site is least likely to sell my card details to a dodgy hacker (or is there none?), is doing this securely online a pipe dream? I only want to spend £20 max, not sure if I can take advantage of any of those 'get £10 free' deals (or if I want to). Anything else I should know?

posted by Gin and Broadband to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

I know these companies by reputation and both are secure, legit companies and won't mess with your data at all, whether selling it or "losing" it or anything else. Read the following to feel a little more comfortable with everything: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/Gambling-sectors/Online/Remote.aspx - that's from the UK Gambling Commission, which is the regulatory body under which they operate. In addition, William Hill is publicly traded, which brings them under further scrutiny. You may not win, but it's not in any way a scam or scummy company.
posted by mikel at 5:53 AM on January 15, 2016

If you really want to lose your money bet on Leonardo DiCaprio to win Best Actor.
posted by essexjan at 6:30 AM on January 15, 2016 [3 favorites]

Any of the major gambling sites are going to be safe (as safe as online transactions can possibly be). Shop around for the best offers - most if them have introductory offers pretty constantly.

I've just checked bet365 and Leo's 1/7 to win, so they think he's a shoo-in, at least!
posted by threetwentytwo at 6:46 AM on January 15, 2016

I've just checked bet365 and Leo's 1/7 to win, so they think he's a shoo-in, at least!

Bookmakers' odds are not necessatily a mathematical calculation of the chances of X winning Y. Bookmakers will reduce odds on something just because a lot of money has been bet on it, so as to reduce their risk in the event it does win. So odds of 1/7 could mean Leo is extremely likely to win, or that craploads of money has been bet on him winning and if the odds were any higher then the bookmaker would lose too much if he did win, or a bit of both.

Any of the big sites will be perfectly safe to use (although not all will necessarily have the Oscars available for betting on) - William Hill, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Coral, Betfred, Betfair, Bet365, Stan James, Unibet, for example. It's worth shopping around for who has the best odds as they can vary somewhat.

Often you'll get a free bet or two as an introductory offer, you can just stick these on random football matches or something and you might win. They are "stake not returned" bets so you don't get back your original stake (the free bet), just the extra profit (so normally a £10 real money bet at 2/1 returns you £30: your £10 stake plus £20 winnings. A £10 free bet would only return the £20). No reason not to use them if you get them as there's nothing to lose.

If you get lucky and win, don't be concerned if the bookmaker asks for pictures of your debit card, ID, and proof of address before they will pay out your winnings - this is perfectly normal and a legal requirement under UK money laundering laws.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:04 AM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

Even if the sites don't have odds published for the kind of bet you want to do, you can call them up and ask if they'll give you odds on whatever you want to place a bet on. They might do it if there's a chance for them to make money. I placed some bets on the 2008 presidential election this way.

Also, of all the sites I've looked at, paddy power always has the biggest selection of "novelty" bets, so I'd start with them - they might already have odds on the exact bets you want to place.
posted by triggerfinger at 2:50 PM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]